Yen spikes to 18-month peak

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SINGAPORE: The yen surged to an 18-month peak on Friday as investors wagered the Bank of Japan might be done adding fresh stimulus to the economy, hurting prospects for Japanese exporters with a move that rippled through share markets across the Asian region.

Perhaps taking advantage of Japan's absence for a holiday, speculators smashed through the yen's previous top at 107.63 per dollar earlier this month and drove the currency as high as 107.075. It was last trading at 107.28.

It had been at 111.67 before Thursday's surprise decision by the BoJ not to ease policy further.

The euro likewise dropped to 122.21 yen, not quite managing to breach its 2016 trough around 121.71.

The sheer speed of the move stirred speculation the Japanese authorities might intervene to restrain the yen. Japanese officials on Thursday warned markets that they would be on guard even over the Golden Week holidays on Friday and next week.  Some analysts, however, seemed unconvinced over how much Japan would do to rein in the yen.

"The steady hand on Thursday is consistent with the yen being some way down the BoJ's list of priorities," noted Sean Callow, a senior currency analyst at Westpac.